The north side of Syracuse has been Al Julian’s home for over thirty years. Now he’s running for election to the Common Council from the First District, where he was born and raised.
Al Julian is the Republican candidate for the First District of the Syracuse Common Council. Running against him are Democrat Michael Heagerty and Conservative Kurt Schmeling. Jeff DeFrancisco is the current Common Councilor for the First District. He has decided not to run for re-election.
Julian recalls the effect his community had on his life.
“When I made my first communion at St. Peter’s Church over on James Street, the priest was Father Joe Maffo. During his tenure as priest, all the kids that made their first communion got buttons. And he gave out one special button to one special communicant every year. I happened to get the special button. Everybody else was the basic ‘Jesus Loves Me’. My button was the different button. And it said, ‘Be Patient. God Isn’t Finished With Me’. You never stop developing as a person. You never stop learning. You never thinking of new things and dreaming. I’m not finished with me yet,” (Julian).
Julian attended Paul Smith College up in Saranac Lake and Onondaga Community College. He never graduated, he said, because he had to attend to some ill family members. But he says if he were faced with the decision again, he would choose his family.
Long time friend Jennifer Hager describes Julian as generous and thoughtful.
“Every time I broke up with a boyfriend, he would be right there to take me out to dinner — and he would always bring me the leftovers from his grandma’s Sunday dinner,” (Jennifer Hager).
In the late 1990’s Julian volunteered with charities such as the Cystic Fibrosis Auction and the Carol M. Breast Cancer Research Fund. Since then, he says, he has chosen to focus on the health and growth of his own family. Julian and his wife Kimberly just added to their family, baby boy Giovanni, who was born on Sept. 18.
Julian grew up in a large extended family. His parents separated and both re-married. He says they’re “the Brady Bunch” with all his siblings and step-brothers and sisters.
Julian says his family was always very opinionated. And he had his own opinions at a very young age.
“The first time I became interested in politics, my mother thought something was wrong with me. As a kid who was about eight years old, I had a Reagan and Bush 1984 poster hanging on the wall in my room. The first real book that I ever picked up and read was “The Art of a Deal” by Donald Trump. I went from Archie Comics to Donald Trump,” (Julian).
Julian is a licensed real estate agent. But now he is chiefly focusing on his campaign, he says. About once a week Julian works in restaurant hospitality at Kelly Cole’s. Julian’s family has over fifty years of experience in the restaurant business. The family no longer owns restaurants. So Julian works as a consultant to others.
In the First District election, Al Julian’s father, John Julian, originally was asked to run for the Republican Party. After his father turned down the designation, the Republican Party asked Al Julian and he accepted four days before the deadline.
He says he is a grassroots campaigner, going door-to-door.
“I think if you want to be a public servant, public official, I think you have a responsibility to the people in the neighborhoods to be visible, to be accessible and make it a point to get to as many meetings, as many doors, as many community events as you possibly can,” (Julian).
Julian is also chatting on blogs at Syracuse.com. His latest post was about Butternut Street sidewalks. Julian says that if the sidewalks do not meet code, then the city or the homeowners are required to replace them. Julian posted, “I feel that while businesses deserve the help of the city to maintain public areas of their shops and restaurants etcetera, so should the homeowners who have invested in some cases, generations in the neighborhood.”
Julian says he wants to tackle quality-of-life issues. He likens his vision for the North Side of Syracuse to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s vision for New York City. Julian wants to make Syracuse what he calls “tourist friendly.” He wants to see a renewed sense of community by making the neighborhoods safer and cleaner. And he wants all properties maintained regardless of their locations in the city. To cut crime, he supports a curfew for teenagers.
“The curfew will make a huge difference in youth and in youth violence in neighborhoods,” (Julian).
Julian has also been in the news lately for parking tickets. The Post-Standard recently reported Julian owed $1,075 in outstanding parking tickets. Julian acknowledged he had about ten parking tickets. He said had been in contact with the Parking Violations Bureau to work out a monthly payment plan. When the story broke in the newspaper, he said he decided to bite the bullet and pay the money in full. He says his tickets represent a larger issue: Limited parking for small business owners. He says there is plenty of parking throughout the city but parking spaces in front of small businesses are limited. Julian says there isn’t always time to drive around looking for a spot that can sometimes be blocks away.
Endorsers of Al Julian include Republican Councilors Ryan McMahon and Jeff DeFrancisco, Democratic Councilor Pat Hogan, State Senator John DeFrancisco and County Executive Nick Pirro.
The election is on November 6.
For Democracywise. I’m Ashley Prchal.
(Ashley Prchal is a graduate student in broadcast journalism.
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